CLASS FOUR: FLAVOR

The post for this class is going to differ a bit from previous ones because I will not be posting very many recipes. In preparing for this class I really felt that the things we would discuss would be best taught in the class itself so forgive me for only posting five new recipes!

I do want to emphasize that it doesn't take a lot to make just about any food taste really good. Meat and vegetables really only need salt, pepper, and a cooking method that brings out the flavor of the food. Of course one can get more adventurous and experiment with spices, sauces, and marinades, but for many dishes it isn't a necessity.

Also of paramount importance is the simple fact that fruits and vegetables taste best when they are in-season. Here in Utah, a peach purchased in December will not in any way compare to a peach purchased in August. Tomatoes in the spring and winter do not taste anything like a freshly picked tomato harvested in late summer. 

The reason for this is simple: foods taste best when they are allowed to ripen fully before being picked. Much of the produce in the grocery store that we buy in the off-season is shipped over great distances and therefore cannot be picked at its peak or it would rot before arriving. It is an amazing convenience to be able to buy almost any fruit or vegetable at any given point in the year, but you cannot expect foods that are out of their growing season to taste as good as they would in-season. Additionally, foods that are allowed to ripen fully before harvest have a greater vitamin and mineral content and are actually healthier for you than those purchased out-of-season. Is it any surprise, then, that the phrase "in the season thereof" is used twice in our church's standard for health (D&C 89:11)?

In class we discussed searing, brining, toasting, and roasting. Here's a quick refresher on those terms:

Sear: to cook something at a high temperature, resulting in browning and caramelization of the foods' natural sugars

Brine: a water and salt (and sometimes sugar) solution used for soaking various meats (typically chicken, turkey, pork, and some seafood), thereby resulting in more juicy, tender meat

Toast: to cook in an open dry heat environment (such as a skillet on the stovetop) for a relatively short period of time, resulting in browning

Roast: to cook in a closed dry heat environment (such as an oven) for a long period of time, resulting in browning and caramelization of the foods' natural sugars

Here are the recipes from my class four demonstration:

BUTTERED CARROTS

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

BRINED PORK CHOPS

HOMEMADE MAC AND CHEESE (this was demonstrated for two purposes: toasting breadcrumbs and for teaching what you can do with a roux--in this case we turned the roux into béchamel and then into cheese sauce)

CHICKEN NUGGETS (I didn't demonstrate these, but I'm adding them here because it is a recipe that uses a quick 30-minute brine to inject flavor and moisture into chicken. My boys love them.)